Members In The Media

“Now it seems that Hawking and Unruh were right!… Now we know that gravity is indeed quantized, involving graviton particles.”Max Tegmark, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, reacting to the recent BICEP2 results, The New York Times, March 25, 2014.

“We don’t really understand antimatter…. For instance, the fundamental laws of physics suggest there should be equal amounts of matter and antimatter in the universe, but our observations tell us there is vastly more matter than antimatter in the universe, and there is no agreed-upon explanation for that.”Holger Müller, University of California at Berkeley, FoxNews.com, April 2, 2014.

“Modern telecommunication networks require synchronization to about a millionth of a second per day…. Power grids also...(and) GPS systems require about 1 billionth of a second per day. All of these technologies, and many more that we use every day, rely on exquisite timing and synchronization that is only possible with atomic clocks.”Tom O’Brian, National Institute of Standards and Technology, on the importance of improving the accuracy of atomic clocks, CNN.com, April 3, 2014.

“For me, it’s fascinating because it’s a story of exploration. Human beings are extremely curious. We want to know what’s beyond the next hill; what’s around the next corner. Nature is really a big mystery, a puzzle. It provides clues, but we’re always asking: How does it all fit together?”Dirk Morr, University of Illinois at Chicago, on the legacy of Star Trek, The Chicago Tribune, April 7, 2014.

“This is a very exciting signal, and while the case is not yet closed, in the future we might well look back and say this was where we saw dark matter annihilation for the first time.”Tracy Slatyer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on surprising gamma emissions from the galactic center, NBCNews.com, April 7, 2014.

“The speakers are great, the bands are famous. I basically built and designed the largest home-made modular synthesizer since well, probably ever. They knew about the work I did and were impressed.”Joseph Paradiso, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, on his upcoming appearance at Moogfest, an art and music festival, The Boston Globe, April 8, 2014.

“If we reduce the number of connected pieces, maybe we can reduce the societal cost of failures.”David Newman, University of Alaska, on how to design a power grid network that can resist cascading power failures, NBCNews.com, April 8, 2014.

“You know what else you can stretch by 20 percent? Rubber.… In comparison, silicon, which is in today’s electronics, can only stretch by 1 percent before it cracks.”James Hone, Columbia University, on the physical characteristics of graphene, The New York Times, April 13, 2014.

“The way that energy prices have come down in the US makes it a real opportunity now to innovate in manufacturing that wasn’t possible before. We have big tools, and making those available and helping grow that Chicago ecosystem is a big goal for me.”Peter Littlewood, Argonne National Lab, on some of his plans upon being named the new director, The Chicago Tribune, April 13, 2014.

“By looking at how the insects turn, we might be able to say what the ‘pilot’ is thinking.”Jane Wang, Cornell University, commenting on research studying how fruit flies turn, The Los Angeles Times, April 14, 2014.

“I’d be more upset, except the idea is so stupid that in the end, it will just reflect badly on them.”Lawrence Krauss, Arizona State University, on an interview with him appearing in the preview for a movie promoting geocentricism, Yahoo News, April 16, 2014.